


We're Enough

by Royalsciencenerd



Category: Rapunzel's Tangled Adventure (Cartoon)
Genre: Angst and Hurt/Comfort, Angst with a Happy Ending, Come cry with me :), Gen, Quirin and Varian mend their relationship, and father/son bonding, and hurt/comfort fics in general, because I'm a sucker for mending relationship fics, especially if it's Quirin and Varian, i cried so much while writing this, post-amber fic
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-11-22
Updated: 2020-12-13
Packaged: 2021-03-09 22:55:27
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 7
Words: 14,555
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27673660
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Royalsciencenerd/pseuds/Royalsciencenerd
Summary: The amber may be gone, but the pain still remains. Quirin and Varian have a long road to healing ahead of them, but at least they have each other.Aka another post-amber fic (because let's face it - we as a fandom love them) :D
Relationships: Cassandra & Varian (Disney: Tangled), Eugene Fitzherbert | Flynn Rider & Varian, Quirin & Ruddiger (Disney), Quirin & Varian (Disney), Quirin and Xavier, Rapunzel & Varian (Disney), Ruddiger & Varian (Disney), Varian & Xavier the Blacksmith (Disney: Tangled)
Comments: 81
Kudos: 88





	1. The Alchemist and the Amber

**Author's Note:**

  * For [DreamingInSilence](https://archiveofourown.org/users/DreamingInSilence/gifts).



> This was requested by DreamingInSilence like a lifetime ago, and it's still not complete but my beta pointed out that it's already 24 pages, so I should probably make it into multiple chapters, so here we are. For context, they requested "a fic about Varian and Quirin after he’s freed. With the whole, 'Varian has done stuff and been in prison and he’s changed while Quirin hasn’t and they have to deal with that.'" 
> 
> I feel like every fanfiction author who's ever written ANYTHING about Varian has their own post-amber fic, whether it's still just their own headcanon, or whether they've shared it with us. I personally, as a reader, LOVE post-amber fics and have read/plan to read them all, but as a writer, I was worried to post my own since I figured it'd just be another mediocre post-amber fic in an already post-amber fic saturated fandom (not that I'm complaining - like I said, I literally will read them ALL). It was one of those "why write something that at least 30 people have already written a better version of" moments. A post-amber fic is something I've always wanted to write, but I didn't think anyone would read. But hey, if people want to read, then I'm happy to write (and I probably would have written it eventually anyways just for me).
> 
> Anyways, this fic starts with Rapunzel freeing Quirin form the amber, and will go until the season finale. It's going to deal with Varian's trauma, and Quirin trying to help him. I've labeled it G, but let me know if I need to up the rating to T. Also, just a heads up, in my own headcanon, "Stronger than Ever Before" is 1000000% a dream sequence for the following reasons: a) people can't slide on lanterns in thin air - I don't care what kind of magic Corona has, b) there's no way Varian goes into town with his dad RIGHT AFTER Varian just switched sides after enslaving the entire kingdom for at least a few months, if not the entire year, and no one assaults him (either verbally or physically) - like I'm sorry, but I don't see that happening, and c) in "Cassandra's Revenge" Rapunzel and Eugene are encouraging Lance through his first time being catapulted, and in the song, they all 3 get catapulted. So "Stronger than Ever Before" is definitely a dream - but feel free to fight me (just know it won't change the story).
> 
> Anyways, I hope I did this justice. It will be seven chapters (they're all written, except the last one - I just need to finish that one and edit the others), and I hope to update at least once a week, if not sooner. I hope you all enjoy! :D

Varian stood back in his lab, watching as Rapunzel cryptically wrapped her hair around the amber. He never thought he’d be back here, especially not with her. After his attempt to use the force of his drill combined with the power of her hair had failed, Varian had assumed his father was lost. Looking back, he knew now that that’s why he reacted the way he did.

Varian was a man of science; he didn’t know the first thing about magic. So after his last resort- Rapunzel’s magical hair- had failed, he had lost hope. He had assumed his father would be trapped forever, this amber an eternal monument to his failure.

He had thought that his chance of being reunited with his father was gone, but after defeating Andrew, Rapunzel had reassured him that she had an idea, and that even if the idea failed, she would do everything in her power to free his father. Well, Varian thought, he had nothing left to lose. He’d done everything in his power to get his father out, and it had cost him what little he had left.

Sure, the amber stole his father from him, the one person who always loved and supported him, and the black rocks might have destroyed his home (though his automatons didn’t help), but he was the one who destroyed his friendships. He was the one who destroyed himself.

And while he may not trust Rapunzel completely yet, and he’s not sure he’ll ever fully trust her again, he’s willing to try. Because if she can still trust him after seeing the worst side of him, then maybe he can still trust her after seeing the worst side of her. She might have created the cracks in their friendship, but he’s the one who smashed it to pieces. And now it was time for them to work together to mend it. 

Speaking of mending relationships, while Varian was hesitantly hopeful that Rapunzel’s idea to free his father would work, he was also terrified of what would happen once his father was free. His dad, if he was even still alive, must hate him. He’d told him to stay away from those black rocks, and Varian hadn’t listened. It was his fault his father was encased, his fault that his dad missed a year of his life, his fault that he hadn’t listened.

Varian shuddered as he thought of his last conversation with his father. He’d been so mad- they both had been. That conversation had haunted Varian every night for the last year. His last words to his dad (minus yelling about going to find help) were “I deserve to know.” It had taken a year, but Varian now realized he didn’t deserve anything.

“What if he doesn’t forgive me?”

“What?” Rapunzel had turned from where she was wrapping her hair to face him. “What do you mean?”

Varian frowned. He hadn’t realized he’d said that part aloud. While he was working on trusting Rapunzel, he didn’t think he was ready to have a heart-to-heart with the princess just yet.

“Ummm, nothing. I was just thinking about my dad,” Varian murmured.

Rapunzel sighed. “Varian, he’ll forgive you. I know he will.”

Varian nodded. “Okay, Rapunzel.”

Rapunzel didn’t look convinced, but finished wrapping her hair around the amber. Grabbing a bucket of water, she returned to stand at his side.

“Once I start this incantation, I won’t be able to stop it. And it could seriously harm you and your father, so I’m trusting you to snap me out of it once your father is free.” With that, she handed him the bucket.

Varian couldn’t help his small smile. She trusted him. After everything he’d done, she still trusted him. If there was hope for their friendship, maybe there was hope for his relationship with his father too.

“You can trust me, Rapunzel.”

With that she began chanting:

“Wither and decay, end this destiny, break these earthly chains, and set the spirit free.”

Varian hesitantly turned towards the amber, expecting the usual reaction- nothing. Instead he gasped as he watched the amber begin to melt. “It’s working,” he whispered. He couldn’t believe it. It was actually working.

Rapunzel began to sing: “Wither and decay….”

“It’s working!” Varian shouted as he watched the amber slowly melt away to reveal his father.

“End this destiny….”

“Oh! Dad!” With that, Varian took off running towards the amber, momentarily forgetting his duty to Rapunzel. Pausing as he felt the water sloshing in the bucket, he turned back to Rapunzel. He’d told her she could trust him. While that wasn’t exactly a promise, that was as close as Varian felt he would ever get to a promise ever again after what happened. He couldn’t let Rapunzel down. He had a responsibility to her. She trusted him.

“Break these earthly chains….”

Varian looked down at the bucket. While he’d had his doubts about Rapunzel’s plan working to free his father, he hadn’t had any doubts about the consequences until now. What if this wasn’t enough to wake her up?

“And set the spirit free….”

Varian splashed the water on Rapunzel to no avail.

“Wake up!” he cried, reaching out to shake her shoulders. He’s met with a scalding heat that melts his gloves. “Agh!”

“Rapunzel snap out of it!” Please Rapunzel. Please wake up. He can’t fail. Not again….

“The spirit free….”

“Rapunzel…. Rapunzel?” Varian reaches out to touch her, but pulls back. He’s seen what she did to his gloves. There has to be another way to wake her up. Clutching his hands to his chest, he thinks hard. What can he do? He can’t give up on her. Thinking out loud, he says as much.

“You didn’t give up on me. I’m not giving up on you.”

Rapunzel gasps and sinks to the floor. Varian kneels down next to her. It worked. He can’t believe it worked!

“Are you okay?”

Rapunzel brushes a loose strand of hair back, and smiles.

Varian returns the smile and hugs her. “Thank you,” he whispers as she hugs him back. And he means it. Not just for freeing his father, but for trusting him again. For being his friend again, and for the first hug he’s had in over a year. Releasing her, he runs to his father.

“Dad! Dad, you’re alive!”

Varian slides to his knees and barrels into his dad, hugging him as tight as he can. His dad hugs back, and at first Varian worries that it was a reflex. That his dad’s been in the amber so long, that it was only natural for him to wrap his arms around him and catch him when he slides into his chest. But then his dad is pressing the back of his head tighter into his chest, and Varian knows this is a real hug, and not just a reflex.

His dad is holding him tightly, and Varian feels his own tears begin to fall, because he knows his dad has forgiven him for the amber. He can’t explain how, but he just knows. Whether it’s something about the way his dad pulls him closer, or the way he cradles the back of his head to his shoulder, Varian just knows his dad has forgiven him. When Varian pulls back, he quickly wipes away his tears on his sleeve.

“Oh, son.” Dad is smiling fondly down at him, and Varian feels a warmth in his chest he hasn’t felt at all in the past year. It’s like the hard, icy walls he’d put up to guard his heart from being hurt again have melted in the warmth of that smile. He smiles back, and it’s the first real smile he’s had in a long time. Hearing a sizzling sound, Varian turns to see the note dissolving in the amber.

“Dad, the note! Well, wha…? What did it say? I need to know.”

His dad smiled, cupping his face. Varian leaned into his touch. “All it said, was: I’m so proud of you, Varian. I always have been.”

Varian leaned forward, embracing his dad in a hug once again. “I love you, Dad.”

Quirin returned the hug. “I love you too, son.” 

The two stayed there like that for what was probably only a few minutes, but felt like forever (but in a good way). Varian decided if he ever had to choose one place be trapped in for all of eternity, he would definitely choose to be trapped in one of dad’s hugs. They weren’t given often, but they were warm and safe, and made Varian feel like everything would be okay.

After letting go of his dad, Varian turned back towards Rapunzel, smiling at her. “Thank you.”

Rapunzel nodded. “Of course…. It was about time I kept my promise.” With that, she turned and left.

Varian turned back to his dad, helping him stand. “Are you okay?” Pulling up a chair, Varian helped him sit down. “Wait here, I’ll go get some water, and food, you must be starving. And I can go get-”

“Stay!” Quirin shouted.

Varian paused, turning back to face his father. “Of course, dad. I’m not going anywhere. Not this time.”

~~~~~~

Quirin had no idea how much time had passed, when he heard the beginnings of a haunting melody.

_Wither and decay_

How was he awake? The last thing he remembered he was writing that note for Varian, and- Varian! Varian must have found a way to free him.

_End this destiny_

He could feel the amber melting around him, as slowly and steadily as it had encased him.

_Break these earthly chains_

He sank to his knees without the amber to support him. Was his son alright? He had to be if he’d found a way to free him, right?

_And set the spirit free_

How had his son managed to free him? The amber was as unbreakable as the black rocks…. And what was this morbid melody that floated throughout his son’s lab?

_The spirit free_

Quirin sat kneeling in the amber, when all of a sudden, a teenager was slamming into his chest and engulfing what he could of him in his arms. No, not just a teenager- his teenager. His son. Wrapping his own arms tightly around Varian, Quirin returned the hug.

He’d missed Varian so much. Even though he’d only been trapped for a little while in that amber, he’d missed his son more than anything else in the world. Or at least he’d thought it’d only been a little while…. It couldn’t have been more than a few weeks, right? Quirin knew it was difficult to tell how long he had been trapped, but it didn’t feel like it was more than that. And knowing Varian, he wouldn’t have stopped until he found an answer.

Smiling at his son, Quirin looked him over to make sure he was okay. He didn’t appear too bad, if a bit thinner and tired, but that was to be expected. Knowing Varian, he would have thrown himself into his work, especially since his son would have believed his life was on the line.

“Oh son.” Quirin gazed at his son, memorizing every feature on his face. He’d missed Varian so much. He was so glad he was safe. He would have been beside himself if something had happened, and Varian had been hurt while he was in the amber where he couldn’t protect him.

And then Varian is asking about the note, and Quirin tells Varian what he should have told him long ago. That he’s so proud of his son. He’s surprised when Varian embraces him yet again, telling him he loves him. He’d thought his son would hate him after their last conversation.

He’d been keeping secrets from his son, and Varian had every right to hate him. But instead his son tells him he loves him, and that means the world to Quirin. Everything is going to be okay. He has his son back, and from the looks of it, his son is fine. So, smiling once again, Quirin hugs his son back. “I love you too, son.” He has never meant anything more than he means that sentiment right now.

After ending their hug, (Quirin’s glad Varian ended it, because he personally believes if left to his own devices, he would never let go of his son ever again), Varian turns to thank the princess, who Quirin just now notices. Well that’s awkward…. But whatever…. When the princess is old enough to have her own kids, maybe then she’ll understand what it means to have them back- to know that they’re safe. To know what it feels like to never want to let them go again.

She says something about keeping a promise, and Quirin knows he should ask about that, but then Varian is helping him stand, and pulling him up a chair, and asking him if he’s okay, and then leaving to go get him whatever Varian thinks he needs, and Quirin can’t help it. He shouts for his son to stay. And to his relief Varian does this time. Because whatever Varian thinks he needs, Quirin knows the only thing he actually needs right now is his son. Just to see him, and know that he’s okay. To hug him, and know that this isn’t a dream. Varian’s here, and he’s safe, and that’s all Quirin needs.

Quirin smiles as his son pulls up a chair next to him. Quirin wraps an arm around his son’s shoulders and pulls him close. Varian leans into him, relaxing into his side. Quirin is content to stay like this forever, but he knows the moment will have to end eventually. He just hopes it isn’t anytime soon. Sitting here with Varian, his son leaning into his side, his arm wrapped around his shoulders- this is enough.


	2. Memories of the Monster

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Varian tells Quirin about everything that happened while he was in the amber. Father-son bonding ensues.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Happy Thanksgiving (a day early) to everyone! This is cheesy, but I am thankful for you all this year. Thanks to everyone who reads, leaves kudos, bookmarks, comments, etc. Y'all are the best, and I'm happy I've found my people (there's only so many RTA theories, debates, discussions, etc. my family and friends can take, so I enjoy talking with all of you who have actually a) seen the show and b) love it as much as I do). Everyone here is so nice and fun to talk with, and I'm so grateful for the support. I've only been writing for 9 months now, but I've been reading fics for 7 years now, and I've seen people in other fandoms completely DESTROY authors for small mistakes, and that was my biggest fear when it came to publishing my work online, so I'm very grateful that everyone here is so chill and constructive. It makes me very happy. :D Unlike this chapter that made me sob as I wrote it, but whatever. It's finals season - crying is healthy, lol. 
> 
> Shout out to my beta who helped me revamp the dialogue because it needed some extra tweaking to be as good as I wanted it to be. Also, I refer to Varian as a monster and have him refer to himself as a monster, which is 100000% based on the song "Monster" from the Frozen Broadway Musical. There's a line in the song that goes, "Am I a monster, full of rage, nowhere to go, but on a rampage?" and every time I hear that line I think of Varian just because I feel like that one line describes his situation. Like the whole reason why he lashed out and attacked Rapunzel was because he felt he was out of options (plus they attacked first, so there's that...). Anyways, enjoy (enjoy being a relative term, lol)! :)

Varian has no idea how long he sits, pressed into his dad’s side before he decides it’s time to face the music. His dad had said he was proud of him- well, let’s see if that was still true after he told him everything that had occurred while he was in the amber.

Pulling back, Varian turned to look his dad in the eyes. “Dad, there’s so much I need to tell you about while you were- gone….”

Quirin gave his son a gentle smile. “I know son. I’m sorry I was gone, but I’m back now, and I’m never leaving again.”

Varian gulped and purposefully did not point out his dad didn’t exactly have much of a choice in the matter the first time.

Quirin continued. “Now that you’ve freed me-”

“Well actually,” Varian rubbed the back of his neck awkwardly. “It was Rapunzel that freed you.”

Quirin stared at his son. “The princess?”

Varian nodded. “Yeah, I-I failed. I couldn’t free you- I tried everything, but she had this idea to use this magical incantation she learned while on her journey, and nothing else had worked so I figured why not? And it did work, and I’m so glad to have you back, and I’m so sorry I lost you in the first place. The amber was my fault, and I’m so, so sorry, and I know you can’t ever forgive me, but I really am sorry, and I did my best. I’m sorry it wasn’t good enough. I’m sorry I failed you.”

Quirin stared at his son in shock. “Failed me?!? Varian, you saved me. Even after I lied to you, and yelled at you. You might not have had the skillset to free me, but you didn’t give up until you found the person who did. You never gave up on me, Varian. You never lost hope, and that means the world to me.”

Quirin watched as his son teared up as he expressed his pride in his son. He leaned forward to hug Varian again, but all of a sudden, his son was shoving him away. Quirin frowned, retreating back to his chair. “What’s wrong, Varian? If it’s something I did, I’m so sorry- I’ll make it up to you. I’m sorry for lying to you- I should have been honest with you from the start-”

“No, don’t apologize. I can’t-can’t accept it. You don’t understand,” Varian whispered.

Quirin recoiled as if he’d been burned. A few minutes ago, his son was telling him he loved him. Where had he gone so wrong? “Varian, I want to make it up to you. I’m sorry, son. Please let me make it up to you, or at least try….”

Varian sniffled before standing abruptly. “I’m sorry, dad. This is all my fault. I don’t deserve any of this. If you knew the truth, you’d hate me.”

With that, his son fled the lab, racing towards his room, where Quirin heard the door slam behind him. What was his son talking about? What does he mean? Quirin sighed, he’s ruined everything with his lies. His son will never forgive him….

~~~~~~

Varian slams the door behind him, sinking down against it, hugging his knees to his chest. Out of all of the outcomes of Rapunzel attempting to free his father, he’d never even considered this one. Sure, he’d thought that the idea could fail, or his dad would hate him, or maybe somehow magically forgive him, but Varian never imagined his dad would try to apologize to HIM! Somehow that’s worse than all of the other possibilities combined….

Varian knew he’d have to tell his dad about what happened while he was in the amber, but he couldn’t. At least, not right now. He’d just gotten his dad back. He’d just gotten his approval- everything he’d ever wanted since he was a little kid. He can’t lose him now. The pain is still too fresh from last time. He would never recover.

Maybe he could pretend nothing happened? But no, if dad didn’t find out from him, then surely he would hear it from one of the villagers. It would be best for Varian to tell him himself. If only he could. Just as Varian was debating what to do, he heard a quiet knock at the door.

“Varian?” Quirin called. Varian shook his head. Please go away. Please leave me alone. Everyone else did. Unfortunately, dad wasn’t like everyone else. “Varian, son… whatever I said to upset you. I’m sor-I didn’t mean to…. Will you please open the door?”

Varian shook his head, burying his face in his knees as tears flooded his eyes. No, dad needed to stay out there where he was safe. Where Varian couldn’t hurt him anymore.

“Son? Please…,” dad pleaded. “I just got you back. I-Varian, I can’t lose you. Please open the door.”

Varian does only because dad sounds like he’s choked up, and he’s rarely seen dad upset, and only seen him cry once (after his mother died). He figures if he’s already hurting dad with closed doors, then open doors can’t hurt much more. And Varian knows firsthand what it’s like to be shut out.

When Varian opens the door, it’s hesitantly. Dad is standing there, tears in his eyes. “Varian, I-” And then Varian can’t help himself. He launches himself at his father, wrapping him in a hug. Quirin jerks in surprise, but quickly returns the gesture. “Son, I-”

Varian shakily interrupts him. “Dad, I have something to tell you….” With that he pulls back to look into his father’s eyes.

His father is gazing down at him with concern, and Varian wishes he could freeze this moment. This final moment before dad hates him forever.

Quirin nods at his son, seeing Varian’s tear-stained face, and the heartbreak in his son’s eyes. “Alright son. But how about we head to the kitchen? I don’t know about you, but I could use a cup of hot cocoa.”

Varian squeezes himself back into his dad’s chest and nods. “Okay, dad,” he whispers, before pulling back to awkwardly follow his dad into the kitchen.

Varian tries to insist that he make the hot cocoa since he knows Quirin is still recovering from the amber, but as he tries to pour the milk, his hands start shaking so badly, he almost spills it everywhere. Quirin quickly gets up from the table, and gently takes the bottle from his son’s hands, placing it on the counter. Grasping his sons’ shaking hands in his own, Quirin leads him back to the table, and encourages him to sit. Varian obliges, and then Quirin returns to the stove to make the hot cocoa.

When it’s ready, he pours it into 2 mugs, before turning to go sit at the table. He finds his son with his head resting on his arms, and Quirin almost thinks he’s asleep, but then he notices his son’s shoulders shaking. Carefully setting the mugs on the table, Quirin places a hand on his son’s shoulder in support.

“Whatever it is, Varian. It’ll be okay. I can help you, now. I’m not going anywhere.” With that, he took his own seat at the table.

Varian shuddered upon hearing his dad’s words. Oh, how he wishes they were true, but his dad has no idea what all he’s done. His dad has no idea about the monster he became, how enraged he had rampaged through their home, and tried to destroy everyone because it was easier to blame them for his failures than blame himself.

His dad doesn’t know about his year in prison, in which he allowed himself to be manipulated by a literal terrorist simply because it felt better to let his heart be filled with hate for the royals than take responsibility for his own actions. His dad doesn’t know how he took over the kingdom, subjected the citizens to grueling labor in the mines, all because of the chance that one of the crystals could help him achieve one of his goals- to get revenge or to free his father.

His dad didn’t know of his alchemy being used to almost destroy the kingdom, and how Rapunzel risked her life to save them all. That she could have died because of him, and how even though he still doesn’t trust her completely, he felt so much regret in that moment. No, his dad doesn’t know any of this. That’s why he hasn’t left yet. Because he has yet to see his son for the monster he truly is.

Varian takes a shaky breath, and lifts his head from the table. He can’t quite look his father in the eyes, but he gets close. And so, he begins to tell his tale. The one of the monster he’s become.

  
~~~~~~

Quirin listens intently as Varian tells his story. He remains quiet throughout it. He’d like to say it’s out of patience and respect for the hardships Varian has endured, but in reality, he’s just shocked with the story his son tells him. In this story Varian tells him, his son is the villain- a vile monster- who seeks revenge out of anger and pain.

In this story, his son is a traitor, and a criminal, and Quirin can’t quite reconcile that idea to the boy he knows and loves. Surely, Varian is painting himself in a darker light out of guilt. Surely, his son is not the monster he describes in this story. But one look at his son’s tear-stained face, and trembling bottom-lip, and Quirin knows this story is not a work of fiction. Varian’s tale is true. The story of the monster is real, and Quirin can’t help but feel this is all his fault.

“And then- then Rapunzel c-came with me, and she-she freed you, and I was s-so certain th-that you would hate me, but then you didn’t, but now you have to, and I’ve screwed everything up, so I’ll g-go. If-if that’s what you want. I’m just so, so so-sorry, and I know y-you can never forgive me, b-but I’ll make it up to you, dad. If-if you’ll let me. I’m so sorry.”

Quirin’s moving before his mind registers what he’s doing. He finds himself kneeling in front of his son, and once again encasing him in his arms.

“Wh-what are you doing?” Varian gasps as he realizes his dad is hugging him. He just told his dad he’s a monster, and his dad responds by hugging him.

“Shhhh,” Quirin shushes him. “It’s alright, Varian.”

Varian gasps. “What?!? No! No, it’s not! I-I’m a monster. You’re supposed to hate me! You have to hate me! Everyone else does- well except Rapunzel, but she owes me because she broke her promise- but you don’t owe me anything, so you have to hate me!”

Varian sobs into his vest, and Quirin clutches him tighter. “Oh son, I could never hate you,” Quirin whispers.

“But I-I, I did-” Varian stammers.

“I know,” Quirin replies, stroking his hair. “I know. But you’re wrong. You’re not a monster; you never were. You were just being human. A human who made mistakes out of pain and anger at loss, but still a human none the less. I could never hate you, son. And you’re wrong when you say I owe you nothing. I owe you the truth. You should have heard it a long time ago….”

With that Quirin launches into the story of his past- about the Dark Kingdom, and the moonstone, and the black rocks. He tells Varian of his time in the Brotherhood, of his reasons for lying to his son- how he wanted to protect him. How if he’d known his son would have had to endure so much pain without him, he would take it all back. How he should have told Varian the truth in the first place. How he wishes he never left his son to face the cruel world alone. How he thought he was protecting him, but he obviously failed. And how he’s so sorry that Varian had to pay for his mistakes.

Varian stares up at his dad in shock as he finishes his story. There’s so much about his dad that he never knew.

Quirin stares at his son, hoping his son will understand why he hid the truth from him. “Varian, I-I never wanted to hurt you. My goal was to keep you safe. I’m so, so sorry. Can you ever forgive me?”

Varian gave his dad a small, shaky smile. “I think if you can forgive me for the villain I became while you were in the amber, then I can forgive you for being the liar you were.”

Quirin nodded. “Deal.” Quirin returns to his chair, and they finish drinking their now lukewarm cocoa in silence, just appreciating being able to be in the same room together without multiple feet of rock-solid amber between them.

After they finish their cocoa, Quirin escorts Varian off to bed, tucking him in. He hasn’t done this since Varian was little, but if his son minds, he doesn’t say anything.

The truth is, Varian is grateful when his dad tucks him into his own soft bed. He’s grateful that for the first time in over a year he’s not falling asleep on a cold, hard bunk to the sound of Andrew’s snores, or alone in a soft borrowed bed he claimed when they took over the palace. He instead falls asleep to the feeling of his dad stroking his hair, and the softness of his own warm blankets, and for the first time in what feels like forever, thinks that maybe everything will be okay.

~~~~~~

Shortly after Varian is asleep, Quirin leaves the room, wandering down into the kitchen. There he washes the mugs, and sets them out to dry. Checking back in on his son, (even though he just left a few minutes ago), Quirin finds himself smiling at Varian’s sleeping form. His son would be okay. He’d been lost without him, but he was back now. He’d make sure everything would be okay. He owed his son that much.

Quirin found himself wandering down the hall to his son’s lab. Quietly entering the space, he stares at the residual ooze the melted amber left behind. A whole year. That’s how long his son had said he’d been encased. When Quirin had first escaped, he’d thought it had been weeks at the most. Now with all he’s missed, it feels like it was an eternity.

He had thought he was protecting Varian, but he’d failed miserably. He’d allowed his son to be abandoned, cast out, threatened, attacked, manipulated, and almost killed. He’d thought he was protecting Varian by shoving him out of the way of the amber, but now hearing all the pain his son went through, he wonders if it would have been better for Varian if he had been the one encased.

NO! Quirin couldn’t think like that. He would have never forgiven himself if he had lost Varian to the amber, even for a little while. And besides, he can’t change the past. Hopefully he can help his son move forward.

Taking one last gaze around the room, Quirin heads off to his own room for the night. He needs to get some sleep himself, if he wants to begin to help Varian to heal in the morning. As he climbs into bed, he can’t help but smile. Varian can claim he is a terrible person who did terrible things, but Quirin knows at least one thing Varian did right. He brought him back. And Varian can argue it was the princess, but Quirin knows the truth- Varian may have lost hope, but he never truly gave up on his dad. Just like Quirin never gave up on his son.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Quirin's "shook" as the cool kids say (*whispers to beta* "is 'shook' still cool?" *beta shrugs*). Varian is anything but okay right now, but he'll get there.... They both will. Feel free to let me know what you thought! :)


	3. The Raccoon Returns

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Varian struggles with moving on, but the return of an old friend definitely helps. :)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Can someone please explain to me why I have no issues with writing hundreds of pages of fanfiction, but I can't write 15 pages worth of research term paper in 3 months? It was double-spaced too.... Smh, but it's done! :)
> 
> Anyways, this chapter is for my beta, who you know if you've read any of my other fics is a HUGE Ruddiger fan (HUGE being an understatement), and has been consistently pestering me about when Ruddiger will enter this fic. Seriously, for the past week we've had ~20 versions of the following conversations:
> 
> Beta: "So where's Ruddiger?"  
> Me: "He's coming. I just wanted to focus more on Quirin and Varian's relationship for a couple of chapters before we add in the emotional support raccoon."  
> B: "You forgot him didn't you?"  
> M: *rolls eyes* "NO! I did NOT forget him. He's coming - be patient."
> 
> *a few hours later*  
> B: "Did you write the chapter yet?"  
> M: "It's 3 am. No, I have not finished writing the chapter!"  
> B: "But you're up now...."  
> M: "Yeah, finishing my 15 page research paper that's due tonight at midnight, and I'm only on page 7. Don't you have med school or something?"  
> B: "Yikes! And yes, yes I do, but that's irrelevant right now.... I mean, you write pages upon pages of fanfiction all the time..., how hard can one research paper be?"  
> M: "Apparently impossible.... My brain has obviously decided it is waaaaaaaayyyyy more interested in analyzing the minute details of Varian's trauma and the hurt/comfort he needs rather than researching S. aureus pathogenicity islands."  
> B: "That's fair.... Good luck on finishing the paper! Text me when you finish the chapter. Don't forget Ruddiger!"  
> M: "For the trillionth time, I won't!" 
> 
> Anyways, I finally finished this chapter (and that paper, lol). Finals are this week, so I wouldn't expect the next chapter until next week, but we'll see what happens. Enjoy! :D

Varian startles awake, gasping for breath. Judging by the shadows on the walls, it’s probably around 3 in the morning. Shakily he gets out of bed, brushing the tears from his eyes. He creeps down the hall silently, before pausing outside his dad’s room.

This is ridiculous, Varian thinks. He can hear his dad’s soft snoring from here. His dad is fine. His dad is safe. He should just go back to bed. But Varian can’t. His anxieties won’t let him. So making a decision, he presses forward, and gently pushes open the door.

Sure enough, there’s his dad’s slumbering figure. His dad is fine. Varian knows he should just go back to bed, but he can’t. The nightmare is still too fresh on his mind. The memory of his dad being encased- no, dad was fine. He’s right here. You’re looking right at him, Varian. Quit being stupid.

Varian turns to quietly sneak back to his own room, when he hears a voice. “Varian?”

~~~~~~

It’s approximately 3:27 am in the morning, judging by the shadows on the walls, when Quirin hears the quiet creak of his bedroom door opening, and the muffled shuffle of the footsteps of someone entering. His Brotherhood training kicks in, and he tenses, preparing for a fight, making sure to keep his breathing even so as not to alert the attacker, when it occurs to him that he recognizes those footsteps.

“Varian?” he asks, turning to see his son standing there meekly.

“Hi, dad,” Varian whispers. “Sorry, for waking you. I’ll just go back to bed now.” His son turns to leave, before Quirin speaks up.

“Varian, wait!” Quirin calls. Sitting up, he pats the spot on the bed next to him. “Why don’t you sit down, and tell me what happened?”

Varian tells him: a nightmare. Quirin frowns. It’s been ages since his son has crept into his room at night after a nightmare. Not since he first created his fluorescent alchemy tubes at age 7. So it’s been at least 7 years, as his son is 14. Quirin’s brow furrows. Wait, no- that’s not right. Varian had said he’d been in the amber for a year. His son is now 15. He’d missed his son’s birthday. Just add that to his list of regrets.

“Do you want to talk about it?” Quirin asks, waiting patiently for his son’s reply.

Varian shook his head. “It was nothing. I just wanted to make sure you were okay.”

Quirin nodded, but he was not convinced. “Nothing” wouldn’t bring his 15-year-old son to sneak into his room to check on him at 3:30 in the morning.

“I’m okay, son,” Quirin reassured. Glancing at his son’s trembling form, he sighed. “Are you okay?”

Varian nodded shakily, before getting up to leave. Quirin responded by pulling his son into his arms.

“It’s okay, Varian,” Quirin whispered. “I’ve got you, son. I’m safe. You’re safe. It’s all over.”

With that, Varian let his tears flow freely. “I just missed you so much. I thought I’d never see you again,” Varian cried into his shoulder. “And then I was reliving it- the moment when you shoved me out of the way, and I went to go get help, but I couldn’t, and I came back and you were-you were….”

Quirin nodded, stroking his son’s hair gently. “I know, son. But it’s over. I’m okay. I’m here. It was just a nightmare.”

They stayed like that, clinging to each other for a while, before Varian pulled back, once again turning to leave. “Sorry for waking you,” he whispered.

Quirin smiled at his son. “It’s okay. I’m glad you told me. I want to help you, son. If you’ll let me….”

Varian nodded. “Thanks, dad.” He turned, hesitantly heading for his own room.

Quirin sighed as he watched his son struggle to force himself back to his room, and back to sleep. “You know, son,” Quirin started. “You could stay here. If you need it, or if you want to.”

Varian nodded. “Thanks, dad, but I think I’ll be fine.” With that, Varian turned and left.

If two hours later, Quirin awoke to his son crawling into bed beside him, he didn’t say anything. If this was what Varian needed, then he would be here for his son. He’d failed his son once; he wasn’t about to fail him again.

~~~~~~

The next morning at breakfast was awkward to say the least. Varian had refused to let him do anything, claiming he still needed to recover from the amber. Quirin was about to argue that he was fine, and if anyone needed taking care of, it was the teenager that had endured a year of emotional and mental trauma, but Quirin knew that was a losing battle.

Every time Quirin broached the subject, Varian said he was “fine.” And that descended into an awkward round of questioning that Quirin was not eager to relive. It went something like:

Q: “Are you okay?”

V: “Yeah, I’m fine, are you okay?”

Q: “Yeah… are you sure you’re okay?”

V: “Yeah, are you?”

Q: “Yeah.”

V: “Okay.”

Q: “Well okay then.”

Quirin still wanted to facepalm just thinking about it. Quirin would be the first to admit he’d never been very good at talking to his son, but this was a whole new level of awkward. Maybe it’d be better once they got back into the swing of things.

Quirin spent the day helping Varian clean his lab, even though his son insisted he could do it himself. Quirin wasn’t sure if he was spending time with Varian for his son’s sake or his own. Maybe it was both.

After the lab was cleaned up, Quirin had gone out to look around the village to see the destruction caused by both the black rocks, and his son’s automatons. If Quirin had any doubts about his son’s story before, they were quashed by the broken robotic torsos pierced by black rocks, their limbs scattered about.

Quirin sighed. His son had been through so much, and he hadn’t been there for him. Not that he’d been the most attentive father to begin with, preferring to leave Varian to his own devices. Well not anymore. He’d still give his son space when he needed it, but he was going to make sure his son never felt alone ever again.

~~~~~~

When Quirin returned home a few hours later, he found a raccoon sitting on the doorstep. “Ruddiger?” he asked. Come to think of it, he hadn’t seen his son’s raccoon since he was freed from the amber. That was odd- Varian never went anywhere without him.

The raccoon perked up at its name, but as Quirin opened the door, it made no move to enter. That was even more strange. Calling out to his son, Quirin tried to coax the raccoon inside. “Varian, I think Ruddiger is out here on the doorstep!”

Varian came running to the front door of the house. “Ruddiger!” he cried, kneeling before his friend. His son reached out his hand to pet his friend, before he paused. Quirin frowned- something was definitely up with these two. Add “mend son’s relationship with pet raccoon” to Quirin’s to-do list.

Varian was beyond ecstatic to see his best friend! He hadn’t seen him since he’d teamed up with Andrew. At the time Varian hadn’t understood why his best friend didn’t like his cellmate, but now that he’d seen what Andrew was capable of, he understood. Ruddiger had only been trying to protect him. Just like dad. And he’d lost them both.

But now they were both back! Varian reached out to stroke Ruddiger’s fur, but hesitated. Had Ruddiger forgiven him? He hadn’t seen him since he’d fled after Andrew had yelled at them. At the time, Varian had thought it was his fault. He had screwed up, and he deserved to be yelled at, but now he sees that Andrew was just a bully. Ruddiger was right about him all along.

As if sensing his hesitance, Ruddiger slowly crept forward, nuzzling his head into Varian’s outstretched hand. Varian smiled, gently petting the raccoon’s head. After a few minutes, Varian whispered, “I’m so sorry buddy. You were right about everything, and I’m sorry.”

Ruddiger crept forward into Varian’s lap, and nuzzled into his chest. Varian laughed, wiping tears from his eyes. Ruddiger had forgiven him. Sure, Varian had been a jerk, but Ruddiger had stood by him until Andrew made sure he couldn’t. He’d turned his best friend into a literal monster so that he could attack the castle, and yet he still came back. Varian knew he was lucky to have him as a friend.

Quirin smiled down at the two, as Varian hugged his friend close to his chest. His son would be okay. Now he had two people to look after him.

That night, Quirin would awaken to the sound of whimpers coming from Varian’s room. After a few minutes in which Varian did not appear in his doorway, he creeps down the hall to check on his son, where he finds him cradling Ruddiger in his arms, face buried into his fur.

Quirin debates moving into the room to check on his son, but as Ruddiger wipes the tears from his son’s face, he decides against it. He’ll let Ruddiger have this moment with his son, since he was there for him when he could not. He’ll make sure to remind his son, he will always be there for him in the morning. But in this moment, he lets Ruddiger be the one here for him now.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The emotional support raccoon is in the building! :) Ruddiger's not going to be the main focus of this fic, (it is about Quirin and Varian mending their relationship after all), but he will be here.
> 
> Also, random side tangent/rant, but has anyone seen the Hallmark movie "Holly and Ivy"? I solely watched because Jeremy Jordan was in it, (some days it's hard to tell where my love for Varian ends, and my love for Jeremy Jordan begins), and he did NOT sing once. @Hallmark, what's the point of hiring him if you're not going to have him use his angelic singing voice?!? How hard is it to add a Christmas caroling scene?!? It was a decent movie, but I'm bitter (in case you couldn't tell, lol).
> 
> Feel free to let me know what you thought! :)


	4. Trauma in the Town

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Quirin thinks a trip into town will help his son. Varian disagrees. They're both semi-correct.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I literally just turned in my last final a hour ago, but I am done! :D (*does happy dance similar to Varian's in "Queen for a Day Part 1"*)
> 
> Enjoy the chapter! :)

A week later, and Quirin decides it’s about time they head into town. They need supplies, what with most of the crops of Old Corona being destroyed. Varian hesitantly agrees to come after Quirin pesters him about it all morning. This outing will be good for his son. He’s sure of it!

It isn’t until they get into Corona proper that Quirin realizes his mistake. While the princess may have forgiven his son, the townspeople certainly haven’t. They jeer at his son, and there’s only so much Quirin can do to defend him.

“Just ignore them,” Quirin mutters, and Varian nods, but Quirin knows he’s not really listening. He can’t blame him. It’s hard for him to drown out the cruel words of the townsfolk, and they aren’t even aimed at him.

Quirin seeks shelter from the storm of harsh words in Xavier’s shop. He’s been friends with the blacksmith for a long time, and he knows the man to be an understanding and compassionate person, if a bit eccentric. Varian used to love to come here and admire all the different metals, and swap legends with Xavier. Now his son keeps his eyes glued to the floor.

Xavier greets Quirin as he enters the shop, Varian following closely behind him. Quirin returns his friend’s greeting before turning to glance at his son. Varian doesn’t even acknowledge the blacksmith’s presence. Quirin frowns.

Xavier, as if picking up on the tension in the room, turns to greet Varian.

“Hello, Varian,” he smiles. “How are you doing, today?” Xavier turns to glance at Quirin after asking this question, as if it’s not really one for Varian to answer, but Quirin himself. Quirin shakes his head, knowing the blacksmith will understand.

Varian hasn’t been doing well. In addition to the nightmares, Quirin’s caught him staring off into space, and there hasn’t been a single explosion since Quirin was freed, and come to think of it, he doesn’t think Varian’s spent any time in his lab. Quirin never thought he’d actually miss his son’s explosions, and the messes he would have to clean up afterwards, but now Quirin finds himself longing for even just one. Explosions would mean his son is okay – that everything is back to normal. Quirin frowned. They had a long way to go to get back to “normal.”

“Hi, Xavier,” Varian mumbles. “I’m fine.” Quirin notices his son doesn’t look up once.

Quirin sighs. “How are you doing, Xavier?”

Xavier smiles. “I am well, Quirin. Thank you! Now how can I help you? Does Varian need some new metals for one of his experiments?”

Quirin would forever be grateful for Xavier. The man was trying to engage his son, even knowing all Varian had done during his brief descent into villainy, and Quirin was thankful for his efforts.

Quirin smiled, turning to his son. “Well, Varian… do you need anything for your experiments?”

His son shook his head. “I’m fine.”

Quirin repressed a sigh, looking to Xavier for help.

Xavier continued to try to help Quirin engage his son in conversation. “Are you sure, Varian? I just got a new shipment of iron ore now that the ports are once again open, and I would be happy to-”

“I’m fine,” Varian cut him off, clenching his fists. Quirin watched as his son slowly forced himself to unclench them. “Thank you,” Varian mumbled, as if an afterthought.

Quirin turned back to Xavier, who shrugged. Quirin nodded- thank you for trying old friend. Xavier returned the nod.

“Well if you don’t need anything, son, I do need a couple of new pitchforks for the village,” Quirin stated.

Xavier smiled. “Of course.”

After Quirin finished placing the order, he turned to leave. “Come on, Varian. We’re headed to the tailor’s.”

Varian nodded, but tensed his shoulders as if bracing for the harsh words they all knew he would face outside.

Xavier cleared his throat as the father-son duo made to leave. “If you don’t mind, Quirin, I also need some things from the tailor’s, so I’ll accompany you if that’s okay.”

Quirin nodded, smiling at his old friend. “Of course, Xavier.”

As they left the blacksmith’s forge, Quirin placed himself on his son’s right, as Xavier placed himself on Varian’s left, and between the two of them Varian was practically invisible to the world. Quirin knew his son used to complain about being so small, but in this moment, between his own broad shoulders, and Xavier’s muscular ones, he was safely hidden from the world. And Quirin knew he’d be forever grateful to the blacksmith, for shielding his son. His son had already been through enough trauma as it was. Anyone who helped to shield him from more, was someone Quirin trusted. He mentally added Xavier to the list of people he could trust to support his son- a short list, but one that was slowly growing.

~~~~~~

Varian had known going into town was a bad idea from the start, but dad wouldn’t stop asking, and he didn’t want to disappoint him, so he had reluctantly agreed. Well past Varian was an idiot- present Varian had decided. He would take his dad’s singular disappointment in him any day over the barrage of insults from half the town thrown his way.

“Just ignore them,” his dad had said. Yeah right, as if he could. It didn’t matter though, because he deserved every insult thrown his way. He had screwed up, and the townspeople had every right to be furious with him. He’d practically enslaved them after all.

This was exactly why Andrew never let him go into town. The first time, the people had hurled insult after insult at him. Andrew had told him to ignore them, and when he found himself struggling with that, Andrew had told him to stay at the castle. Unfortunately, it didn’t seem like dad would let him hide out in their home forever anytime soon.

Eventually they entered Xavier’s forge, where Xavier obviously tag teamed with dad in an obvious attempt to get him to talk, but Varian wasn’t in the mood. He just wanted to go home.

Eventually, his dad had placed his order and directed them towards the tailor’s, when Xavier had mentioned he’d accompany them. Varian inwardly groaned. This shopping trip was turning into a “let’s reacclimate Varian to the real world outside of prison trip,” and Varian was not happy about it. He just wanted to go home, where he was safe with his dad and Ruddiger- those are the only two people (or person and raccoon) he needs.

Varian remains unhappy as he braces himself for their return into the harsh barrage of insults from the brief reprieve Xavier’s forge held, until he finds himself outside the forge and yet not insulted every five seconds. Casting a quick glance upwards, he finds himself sandwiched between his father and Xavier. Even with his growth spurt, he’s so short and skinny the townspeople can’t even see him.

Varian smiles as he feels a wave of relief wash over him. People could say what they want about Xavier being eccentric, but the man was sometimes a genius capable of rivaling Demanitus himself. So that’s why Xavier was coming with them- to help him. Varian smiled and made a mental note to thank the blacksmith later. He really owed him one.

They made it safely to the tailor’s shop with no insults thrown Varian’s way. Varian was eternally grateful for the human shields that got him there. Once they arrive, Quirin nudges Varian to go peruse the fabrics to try to find something he likes.

Varian sighs. If his dad thinks some new clothes will help his “healing process” or whatever his dad is calling it now, he’s sorely mistaken. Besides, they should be focusing on him and making sure he’s okay. Who knows what long-term effects the amber might have on his health?!?

Seeing his son’s hesitance, Quirin begins to move around the shop, picking out options for his son. He knows Varian will need something durable, and easy to move about his lab in. Something preferably relatively flame retardant. Oh, and if his son is to continue his experiments, he’ll definitely need some new gloves too. The old ones had apparently been disintegrated by Rapunzel during her magical incantation.

Xavier moves around the shop, supposedly looking for new shirts for himself, but Quirin notices how he proffers a few items to his son. Yes, Quirin owed Xavier big-time.

After Varian turns down most of his suggestions, and almost all of Xavier’s, Quirin sighs. Xavier approaches Quirin, and they head to a small corner of the shop away from his son.

“I think maybe we are going about this all wrong…,” Xavier stated.

“What do you mean?” Quirin asked. They were just clothes shopping…. Was there a wrong way to do it?

“I fear the clothes we are offering Varian may be too similar to his old ones, and his old ones remind him of his past,” Xavier explained.

“Oh,” Quirin replied. OOOHHHHHHHHH…. That explained a lot. “So, we need to find something completely different.”

Xavier nodded. “I think that would be best.”

They both returned to the section they’d left Varian in and began their search anew. Varian had scrutinized them when they first came back, but had obviously given up on figuring out what their plan was, as his son just stood there pretending to look through fabrics.

“Ah-hah!” Xavier exclaimed, as he presented a completely new outfit to Varian. “This is it! I have a good feeling about this one.”

Varian shrugged, but took the outfit to try it on. That was further than they’d gotten with any other outfit. Quirin breathed out a sigh of relief, and smiled at Xavier. Progress….

~~~~~~

After Xavier and his dad reappeared from wherever they had gone, Varian didn’t fail to notice they were selecting styles completely different from the ones before. Which was odd, but whatever, it’s not like he cared anyways. He was still on team “let’s just call it a day and go home.”

When Xavier presents him with the outfit, he decides to take it, just so he can appease them and hopefully get his dad to let him go home. But once he sees himself in the dressing room mirror, his breath catches in his throat.

It’s a pretty simple outfit. Just a white long-sleeved shirt with a collar, some brown pants, and a burgundy vest. He’d still need a new apron and some gloves, and maybe a new set of boots, but Varian finds he doesn’t hate it. In fact, he kind of likes it.

In this new outfit, he looks almost nothing like his old self. He looks older, more mature. He looks nothing like that scared kid who tried to destroy the kingdom in revenge. He looks like how he wants to feel. Maybe there is something to his dad’s whole “new outfit, new you” theory.

He emerges from the dressing room hesitantly. Quirin and Xavier both look up from where they are perusing the shelves as he exits. They both immediately smile, and Varian begins to feel himself blush.

“What do you think?” he asks hesitantly. His opinion of these clothes means nothing if his dad doesn’t like them.

Quirin smiles at his son. “I like them. They look good on you. You look like a mini man.” He smirked as his son blushed in embarrassment. “What do you think, Xavier?”

Xavier smiled. “I think he looks good. But I’m biased, because I was the one who picked out that outfit.”

Quirin nodded. “What do you think, son?”

“They’re okay,” Varian states, but Quirin can see the small smile on his face.

“Well then, go change, so I can purchase them. Unless you want to wear them out.”

Varian hesitates, as if unsure. “Ummm, could I…? Wear them out that is….”

Quirin smiles at his son, and nods. As he pays for the new clothes, Quirin smiles at his son’s change in demeanor. And Varian thought some new clothes wouldn’t be helpful to his recovery…. Quirin may not know his son as well as he’d liked to, but he does know his son. After the tailor’s shop, they say goodbye to Xavier, and head for home. And if Varian seems a little more confident than before, well Quirin’s not one to say I told you so….

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Alternate titles for this chapter include: "Varian gets some retail therapy" and "From minion to mini man."
> 
> Quirin's a good dad. He just doesn't always think things through.... Like father like son, I guess. 
> 
> Also for the following reasons I did NOT have Quirin beat up a townsperson (although, trust me, I considered it for an extended period of time):  
> 1) Quirin would go to jail for assault and that would be extremely detrimental to Varian's healing (this is the main reason - I couldn't figure out how Quirin would NOT go to jail).   
> 2) Quirin, while a badass trained in fighting as part of the Brotherhood, knows when to pick his battles and show restraint - he can't fight the whole town (I mean he could, but see #1), so he focuses on shielding Varian (a concept he is quite familiar with from the good ole days when Varian caused an explosion at least once a month).  
> 3) What sort of example would that set for Varian? Punch your problems? Yes, you should stand up for yourself and the people you care about, but you shouldn't just attack people every time someone is a jerk, and Quirin knows this.  
> 4) I want this to be canon-compliant, and there's no way the townspeople (*cough cough - Feldspar*) would still insult Varian after they watched Quirin beat the crap out of someone for insulting his son. Feldspar's too much of a chicken.  
> 5) Why have Feldspar bashing when you can have Xavier appreciation? Xavier's the best, and I will take every opportunity to include him.  
> 6) I reiterate #1 - Quirin's NOT going to jail. Not in this fic. It would crush Varian. Maybe one day I'll write a fic where Quirin beats someone up on Varian's behalf, but not today....
> 
> Feel free to let me know what you thought! :)


	5. Chemicals and Conflicts (Dad vs. Dad)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Quirin gives Varian the support he deserves (in more ways than one). :D

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> We have made it to my favorite chapter of this fic, and I'm excited to share it with you all! :D It's about to go down....
> 
> Enjoy! :)

Varian stands in his lab, staring at the chemicals lining his shelves. He doesn’t understand why he’s still in this funk. It’s been over a week since he got his father back, he has a new outfit, he’s cleaned his lab space, why can’t he just experiment?!? He loves alchemy! What is his deal?!?

Varian sighs. He knows exactly what his deal is. Dad’s in the kitchen making lunch, and all Varian can think about is what if this experiment goes wrong? What if he hurts dad yet again? What if this time dad doesn’t come back?

Groaning, he slams his fist down on his lab bench, growling in frustration. Why is this so difficult?!?

Just then, dad enters the lab. He’s been checking on him more than usual. It’s equally unnerving and comforting to have him in the lab with him.

“Lunch is ready!” Quirin smiles as he greets his son. Seeing his son’s frustration, Quirin frowns. “Is something wrong?”

Varian sighs, turning to face his dad. How do you explain to the person you hurt you’re scared you’ll hurt them again? Especially when they have so much faith in you that they would automatically deny it, and say that you won’t? He has no idea how to say that, so he goes with the next best option. “Yeah, I’m fine. Just thinking about all the experiments I can’t wait to do!”

Quirin frowned- his son wasn’t fooling anybody with the whole “I’m fine” charade. “So, what experiment do you have planned next?” he asks, hoping to get Varian to talk more.

“Ummmm, just a few things. I wouldn’t want to bore you with the complexities of alchemy,” Varian chuckles nervously. Why won’t dad drop it?!? Dad always dropped it before. Does he not trust him? He’s never cared about his alchemy except when it created a mess- that is, until now.

Quirin continued to press. Come on, Varian. Talk to me. “Oh, you wouldn’t bore me. I’m actually quite interested in learning more about all your alchemy experiments.”

“Riiiiiggghhhtttt….” Varian sighed. “Well as you know, this is the animal trap goo and the neutralizing particle. Oh, and here’s the cleaning spheres. I’ve been working on perfecting them. And ummmm, well that’s about it for now,” Varian muttered sheepishly.

Quirin sighed. His son was worse off than he’d thought. “So, no new experiments in the works, son?” he asked.

“No, no no…. I um, have some ideas, I just figured, why move forward with new stuff when the old stuff isn’t perfected yet, you know what I mean?” Varian replied.

“That never stopped you before,” Quirin smirked.

Varian blushed. “Well, I just figured wh-why not?” he stammered, obviously flustered.

Quirin sighed. “You know, Varian. You’ve been through a lot, and after going through a traumatic experience, it’s only normal to be scared.”

Varian immediately recoils as if he’s been slapped. “Sc-scared?!? Who said anything about scared? Are you scared?” Varian asked.

Quirin resisted the urge to roll his eyes. They were NOT about to start another round of “I’m fine, are you?” back and forth questioning. They’d done enough of that with “are you okay?”

Instead he decided to be honest with his son. Lying to his son was what caused this whole mess in the first place, so he decided that honesty was the best course of action moving forward.

“Of course, I’m scared, Varian.” Seeing his son flinch, Quirin backtracked. “But not of you, but for you. I failed to protect you last time, and because of my failure you went through a year of hell without me. I never want you to have to face anything like that ever again, especially not alone. But I also know that I don’t have complete control over what happens in life, so I know that there may be times I fail to protect you in the future, but that doesn’t mean I won’t always try.

Varian, life is about is about accepting our failures, and moving forwards. You can’t let the fear of failure keep you rooted in the past. Sometimes you just have to keep moving forward, even when it’s hard. And know that I will always support you along the way.”

Varian hesitated, before answering. “I just don’t want to hurt anyone ever again. And what if I can’t do that as long as I continue my experiments? What if, in order to prevent myself from hurting others, I need to give up alchemy?”

Quirin sighed. “Varian, you can’t protect everyone from everything. I personally know that now more than ever. Even if you think you are doing the right thing to protect those you love, your decision to save them from the bad can cause them to be hurt by something worse.

Take the amber for example. I thought I was protecting you by preventing you from being encased, but the consequences for you after my entrapment were worse than I could have ever imagined. I thought I was making the best decision to keep you safe, but in making it I left you alone to face things you never should have had to, ever.

Son, you can’t always prevent people from getting hurt. I think what matters most is that you do your best, and never intentionally hurt others. You can be cautious, but still curious. You can be fearful, but still move forward. And you can say you want to give up alchemy, but we both know that’d be like giving up a piece of yourself.

So, continue to experiment. Continue to use that big brain of yours to help others. And know that I’m proud of you no matter what you decide.”

With that, Quirin left the lab, heading back to the kitchen for lunch. Varian stared after him before turning back to his chemicals.

“Alright, Varian. You can do this. Dad believes in you.” And with that, he picks up his plans for his latest invention, and sets to work, lunch completely forgotten.

When Quirin stops by an hour later to remind his son about lunch, he finds Varian elbows deep in a new experiment. Smiling, he lets his son be. If missing one meal is the cost of helping his son create his new normal, a new normal in which the old Varian is still reflected in the new, then he’s okay with that. He’ll just make sure his son eats a big dinner.

~~~~~~

There’s been one thing that’s been bothering Quirin ever since Varian told him his story- well, scratch that, a lot of things are bothering him about it- but his main concern is how the king had promised his daughter that he “would do everything in his power to get Varian help.”

If the king’s definition of “help” was throwing his 14-year-old son into a prison cell in the darkest corner of Corona’s dungeon with a Saporian terrorist as a cellmate, well then, he and Frederic needed to exchange words over the proper definition of “help.”

So when Princess Rapunzel shows up in Old Corona to check on repairs, and Quirin just so happens to see that she’s brought the king with her, Quirin knows that this is his chance. The princess is showing her dad around town, all while talking to villagers and helping with repairs herself.

Frederic also helps with repairs, but seems confused the whole time. Quirin rolls his eyes. Of course, the king who thinks the “help” his son needs is a 9 x 12-foot prison cell and a terrorist roommate, would not understand the notion of helping others repair the damages caused by his complacency with the black rocks. Quirin might have messed up by trying to flee from them, but at least he had admitted his mistake. The king just hadn’t cared, ignored the problem, and now was avoiding taking responsibility for his actions (or should he say, inaction).

So when the princess and king make their way over to the field where he and Varian are harvesting pumpkins, he tenses. He can’t yell at the king- that’d be treason. He just got his son back- he can’t be taken away to the dungeons himself. No, his negative thoughts about the king, however true, must remain just that- thoughts.

He is a patient and forgiving man, he reminds himself. A patient and forgiving man who had promised his son he would never leave him alone again. But as he watches the royals approach, and Varian’s immediate flinch backwards, Quirin almost loses it. How dare they just prance about, acting like they haven’t a care in the world, when his son is hurting because of wounds caused by their blows!

“Hello, Quirin, sir,” Rapunzel greets as she enters the field. “Hi, Varian. How are you doing?”

At least the princess seems genuinely concerned for his son. Quirin knows that both he and Varian are still a little bitter towards her after she abandoned his son, but he knows that Varian and the princess are working on mending their friendship, so he’ll play nice with her. The king on the other hand, is just standing there, completely unapologetic, and Quirin just wants to smack that pleasant smile right off his face.

“I’m fine,” Varian states, but Quirin notices how he clutches the pumpkin he’s holding tighter to his chest as if it can shield him. His eyes have not left the king’s. All Quirin sees is the fear in them, and that’s when he finally snaps. All the patience in the world can’t help him now, as he watches the people who hurt his son the most nonchalantly approach him like they’re old friends.

“What are you doing here?!?” Quirin growls, glaring at the king. He can be respectful, but still angry. Probably….

Frederic, for his part, looks extremely confused, but his daughter interjects for him. “Oh, we’re just checking in on repairs. Do either of you need anything? We’d be happy to help!” Rapunzel smiles and Quirin just wants to scream. Do they need anything?!? DO THEY NEED ANYTHING?!?

How about the last year of his life back?!? How about for his son to be able to look him in the eyes again?!? How about for them to be able to go into town for 5 minutes without Varian looking like he wants to disappear after insult after insult is thrown at him?!? How about a freaking apology?!?

As if sensing his dad’s anger, Varian steps in. “Um, no. We’re fine. Thanks, Rapunzel.”

Rapunzel smiles. “Of course. Just let us know if you need anything….” And then the royals are turning to leave as if everything is okay, and Quirin can’t help himself.

“HOW ABOUT A FREAKING APOLOGY?!?” Quirin shouts, as he throws down his spade.

Both royals turn in shock, a hurt look on Rapunzel’s face, but what enrages Quirin even more is the look of confusion on Frederic’s. As if he doesn’t even know what to apologize for. As if he doesn’t remember EXACTLY what he did to his son!

Rapunzel hesitates before speaking, “Quirin, sir. I am sorry for all the pain I have caused your family. I made a promise to your son, but I was unable to fulfill it at the time. I should have come later though, and that is my biggest regret. I hope you can accept my apology. I assure you; it is sincere.”

Varian seems baffled by the princess’ apology. Quirin frowns. It’s almost like she’s never apologized to him before now.

“It-it’s okay Rapunzel. I’m sorry too,” Varian states, meeting her eyes for the first time.

She smiles, and it warms Quirin’s heart to see his son returns it with his own small smile. But this isn’t over yet.

“WHAT ABOUT YOU?!?” Quirin growls, turning to Frederic. “YOU THINK YOU CAN JUST TREAT MY SON HOWEVER YOU WANT AND GET AWAY WITH IT?!? MY SON IS A PERSON, A CHILD, AND YOU JUST TOSSED HIM AWAY! ALL IN THE NAME OF PROTECTING YOUR PRECIOUS DAUGHTER! I KNOW MY SON HAS DONE BAD THINGS, BUT IT WAS BECAUSE OF YOUR IGNORANCE AND NEGLIGENCE THAT HE FELT HE HAD TO! AND YET YOU COME HERE ACTING AS THOUGH YOU HAVE NOTHING TO APOLOGIZE FOR! WELL, IF YOU WON’T APOLOGIZE THEN GET OUT! YOU ARE NO LONGER WELCOME IN OLD CORONA!”

Both Varian and Rapunzel are staring at him in shock after his outburst. Thankfully, they’re in one of the far corner fields, so no one else is around to see this showdown, but Quirin finds he doesn’t care. This is the man who hurt his son, and he wants justice for Varian.

Frederic just continues to look confused, and turns to his daughter as if for help. Quirin clenches his fist, and struts forward pointing his finger in the king’s face. “YOU OWE MY SON AN APOLOGY!” He knows deep down, he’ll probably regret this, but right now all he wants is justice for his son, or at least an apology.

Frederic turns to Varian and mumbles, “I-I’m sorry?” as if it’s some sort of question. As if he doesn’t understand why he needs to apologize. Quirin’s fists clench again, and he tenses as he prepares for a fight, but then he feels the hand on his shoulder. He deflates as he turns to see his son shaking his head.

“He doesn’t remember, dad,” Varian whispers.

Quirin frowns, turning to face his son. “What do you mean, he doesn’t remember? Are you that unimportant to him?!?”

Varian shakes his head. “Dad, I-I….”

Rapunzel steps in for him. “Quirin, sir. The Saporian Separatists used a Wand of Oblivion on my parents. They don’t remember anything.”

Quirin freezes. That’s right. His son had mentioned that. He’d been so caught up in Varian’s story he had missed some of the details. He’d been so focused on Varian, that he’d forgotten how his son and “friends” had been able to take over the kingdom in the first place. Well, crap. The king actually didn’t remember. And Quirin just got up in his face. Crap….

Quirin immediately backs down, unclenching his fists. “I-I’m sorry. I didn’t remember.”

Rapunzel nodded. “It’s okay. I’m sure there’s a lot of new information you must be taking in. It’s okay that you forgot.”

Frederic continues to look between the group, still confused as ever. Rapunzel turns to him. “Come on, dad. Why don’t we head back to the castle?”

Frederic nods and follows his daughter. Quirin turns to his son, ready to apologize to him as well, but then Varian’s hugging him, burying his face in his chest.

Quirin manages to return the hug, but is thoroughly confused. “Varian?” he asks.

Varian speaks into his chest, his words muffled by his shirt, but Quirin can still hear them loud and clear. “You defended me. Against the king….”

Quirin smiles, reaching down to stroke his son’s hair. “Of course, I did, son. You are the most important thing in the world to me.”

Varian looks up at his dad in shock. He still can’t believe his dad defended him to the king. After all he’d done. After all he deserved. His dad had stood up for him, to the point of treason, all because he believed in him. He believed what Varian deserved was not more pain, but justice. Not more suffering, but peace. He believed Varian deserved to be defended, and held close to his dad’s chest, safe in his dad’s arms, Varian has never felt more loved.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Alternate titles for this chapter include: "Quirin puts Frederic in his place (but not too much, because I didn’t want him to go to jail)" and "Amnesiacs don’t apologize."
> 
> For many of the same reasons as the previous chapter, I did not have Quirin physically attack Fred"jerk"ric. As a reminder those reasons were:  
> 1) If I can't find a way to justify Quirin punching a townsperson and not going to jail for assault, then there's definitely no way I can justify him punching the king and not going to jail for both assault and treason. And Quirin going to jail would crush Varian.  
> 2) Once again, what sort of example would that set for Varian?  
> 3) If Quirin attacked Frederic, Frederic would get his ass kicked, and there's no way Rapunzel and Varian would have been able to pull Quirin off of Fred and stop the fight (given the fact that they are both relatively short and scrawny compared to Quirin). So a commotion would have occurred, the people of Old Corona would have to drag their leader off of Fred, and Quirin would definitely go to jail with that many witnesses to testify against him.   
> 4) Personally, as satisfying as it would be to watch Quirin kick Fred's ass, that's not what Varian needs in this moment (at least in my personal opinion - you all can feel free to fight me on this). What Varian needs right now is his dad in his corner, standing up for him when few other people will. And Quirin standing up for him against the king has such a huge impact, because the last interaction Quirin and Varian had involving the king was Quirin "lying" to the king's face (we can debate whether Fred didn't actually know what was happening or if he was trying to help Quirin cover up the problem), and then when Varian confronted Quirin about it, Quirin told him, "That's enough, Varian," basically telling Varian to shut up. So now, with Quirin standing up for Varian against the king, unprompted, that has a HUGE impact on Varian's mental health improvement, because Quirin's basically stating, "I care more about my son than my loyalty to this kingdom," and that's really what Varian needs right now. We've gone from "I'm proud of you," to "I would do anything for you because you are the most important person in the world to me," and Varian needs this verbal confirmation of that (of course, this is how Quirin's always felt, but s1 Quirin was just too emotionally constipated to say it).
> 
> Anyways, as always, feel free to let me know what you thought! Now that I'm done with school for the semester, I'm hoping to be able to get a lot more writing and editing done, so this fic should (hopefully) be completely posted by the end of the week, and I'm hoping to update Creeping Crystals by the end of next week (if not sooner). :D


	6. Of Former Friends and Furious Fathers

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> After "Cassandra's Revenge," Varian just wants to go to sleep. Quirin just wants to know who hurt his son.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> We're almost done! Side note: I'm working on a one-shot that will be Quirin and Frederic's talk after Fred gets his memory back (I couldn't get it to fit with what I already had written for this fic, so it'll be separate (plus this fic is about Quirin and Varian, NOT Quirin and Fred)). We're starting to get some major time jumps here, so I hope it isn't too confusing, but please let me know if it is. Enjoy the chapter! :D

After the events with the red rocks, Varian seems more confident, although he still doesn’t spend as much time in his lab as he used to. When Rapunzel offers to let him work in the Demanitus Chamber, Varian immediately agrees, claiming the solitude and the proximity to Demanitus’ work will help him focus. Quirin knows the truth- his son just needs a change of scenery.

Quirin might not have all the details of what went down while he was encased in the amber, but he knows his son’s lab holds a lot of bad memories for him. If Varian wants to continue his work elsewhere, Quirin won’t try to stop him. He just hopes his son knows he’s still here if he needs him.

~~~~~~

Varian accepts Rapunzel’s offer to work in the Demanitus Chamber with a beaming smile, and an inward sigh of relief. While he has been working more on his experiments, it’s still a little painful to work in the space where he once entrapped his own father. The new space has none of those bad memories attached- only memories of the time where he faced his fears and helped saved the kingdom.

It’s a little poetic, Varian thinks, that the place where he faced his greatest fear is now the place where he works, continuing to face his alchemy fears daily. He’s gotten a lot more comfortable with new experiments, and it definitely helps that this new workspace is underground and away from people who he could hurt. The only downside is it’s so far away from dad. But at least Ruddiger is here.

Varian smiles, turning back to his work translating the scroll. Rapunzel believes in him, his dad believes in him, and of course Ruddiger believes in him. Now he just needs to believe in himself. Picking up a new piece of parchment and a quill, he sets to work.

~~~~~~

It’s been a long day, when his dad’s house finally appears on the horizon. Rapunzel gives him one final hug, and Eugene ruffles his hair before they turn to leave. Sighing, Varian gently pushes open to door to the house, slipping quietly inside.

His dad is bustling about the kitchen as Varian walks in. Varian tiptoes past, hoping to make it to bed before his dad starts asking questions. He loves his dad, but after what happened with Cassandra – he just needs to be alone for a bit. He needs some time to process, and to think.

Just as he’s about to make it past without being detected, Ruddiger chitters and jumps off Varian’s shoulders where he’d been resting, racing towards the apples dad was beginning to cut. As dad turns in surprise, Varian inwardly groans. He was so close.

“Varian!” Quirin sets down the knife, hands Ruddiger an apple slice, and walks over to greet his son. “When did you get home? I thought you were staying at the castle for a few days.”

Varian tries to plaster a smile on his face, but finds he doesn’t have the energy. “I just got here,” he states. Please no more questions, please no more questions.

Quirin frowns as he sees the exhausted look in his son’s eyes, but doesn’t comment. “Well, I’m making dinner if you want some. It should be ready in a few minutes.”

Varian shook his head. “I’m fine.” At his dad’s skeptical look, Varian sighs. “Really, I am. I’m just tired. I think I’m going to head off to bed.”

Quirin frowns, but nods. “Okay, son.” As Varian turns to leaves, he hears his dad call behind him, “Are you sure you’re alright, Varian?”

Bracing himself, Varian turns to face his dad, nodding. “I’m fine.” With that, he turns and heads off to his room, leaving his father and raccoon behind.

As his son leaves, Quirin turns to look down at his son’s raccoon. Ruddiger seems to be just as concerned about Varian as he is. Sighing, Quirin turns back to finishing supper. He’ll check on his son after dinner. If his son wanted some space, he’d give him some time, but that doesn’t mean he’d let him face whatever happened this time alone.

~~~~~~

Varian groans as he pulls his shirt over his head. Examining his torso, he takes in the patchwork of bruises crossing his chest. Thankfully none of them seem to be too bad; he’s had worse.

Reaching for his nightshirt, he’s about to pull it over his head when he hears a knock at the door, followed by a soft creak as it starts to open.

“Son?” his dad calls out, as he shoves his nightshirt over his head. He’d hidden the bruises from Rapunzel, from Eugene, from Lance, Catalina and Kiera. He wouldn’t let them be discovered now.

Unfortunately, he was too slow. As his dad enters, he catches sight of one of the bruises near his stomach, as he shoves the shirt down to his waist.

“Varian! What happened?!?” Quirin calls out in alarm, as he approaches his son, grasping the hem of his son’s shirt.

Varian swats his dad’s hands away, tugging his shirt down. “Nothing, I’m fine.”

Quirin frowns. He knows what he saw. Why is his son trying to hide his injuries from him? “Varian, you’re hurt.”

“I’m fine, dad,” Varian protested. “I just ran into a wall earlier- you know, typical clumsy me.”

Quirin watched as his son blatantly lied to him. It was true that Varian had always been a particularly clumsy child, and because of that Quirin had treated his fair share of injuries over the years, but Quirin knows what he saw. Those bruises weren’t from Varian’s usual clumsiness – someone had hurt his son. He wanted to know who.

Quirin tried to keep his voice calm and steady as he asked, “Varian, where did you get those bruises?”

Varian was looking anywhere but at his face as he responded with more lies. “I told you, I ran into a wall.”

“Walls don’t make bruises like that, Varian,” Quirin growled. “Now I’m going to ask you again… where did you get those bruises?”

“I’m fine, dad,” Varian tried again.

“Was it one of the townsfolk?” Quirin asked, his voice dangerously calm and quiet. The townsfolk hated his son. It’d been a hard lesson for him to learn, but he’d learned it. They used to just throw vile words and taunts Varian’s way. Had they upgraded to violence?

“What?!? NO!” Varian cried.

Quirin frowned. “Was it one of the palace guards? Someone on the palace staff?”

Varian shook his head. “What?!? Dad, I said I’m fine.”

Quirin stepped closer to his son, once again reaching for the hem of his shirt. As Varian once again reached down to swat his hand away, Quirin caught his wrist. Using his other hand, he gently lifted his son’s nightshirt to reveal the myriad of bruises that littered his chest.

Quirin gasped. “What happened?”

Varian turned his head, gazing at the floor. “Nothing. I’m fine.”

Quirin felt anger well up in his chest. Fighting to stay in control so as not to yell at his son, he growled, “Varian, who did this to you?”

Varian shook his head. Quirin grit his teeth. “Was is one of your ‘friends’?”

Varian continued to stare at the floor, but Quirin caught a glimpse of the tears in his son’s eyes. Releasing his son’s wrist and the hem of his shirt, Quirin turned and stormed out of the room. How dare anyone hurt his son! And how dare the princess let them, after everything his son’s been through. He thought the princess was supposed to be helping his son, not hurting him more!

“Dad!” Varian called, racing after him. “Dad! Where are you going?!?”

Quirin reached the kitchen and began to throw supplies in a bag.

“DAD!!!! What are you doing?!?” Varian asked.

Quirin ignored his son. Varian was obviously trying to protect whoever hurt him. He wouldn’t get any answers from his son. He’d have to find the monster who’d hurt his son on his own.

“DAD, PLEASE!” Varian cried. “You’re scaring me….”

At this, Quirin froze, turning to face his son. His son who was staring up at him with wide, fearful eyes.

Quirin once again grit his teeth, bracing himself. “Varian, I’m going to ask you one last time. Who did this to you?”

Varian’s lower lip was trembling. “It’s nothing, dad. I’m fine.”

Quirin growled, and turned, slamming open the door, and stepping out into the night.

“ALRIGHT!” Varian screamed, causing Quirin to freeze in his tracks. Turning to face his son, Quirin watched his son deflate. “Alright,” he whispered. “I’ll tell you what happened. Please, just-just come back inside. Please….” Varian finally met his eyes, and Quirin felt his heart ache as he looked at the hurt his son’s eyes held.

Placing his bag on the kitchen table, Quirin sat across from his son, waiting for him to speak. After what felt like an eternity, Quirin was about ready to give up, when Varian finally spoke.

“I promise I’m okay, dad,” Varian whispered.

Quirin wanted to scream in response to his son’s lies (not at his son, but for his son). How could anyone hurt his son? Sure, Varian had made mistakes in the past, but he’d spent every day since trying to make up for them. It wasn’t fair! Quirin couldn’t protect his son then, and it seems he can’t even protect him now. What was the point of being back, of having a second chance with Varian, if he was just going to fail him once again?

“Varian, whoever you’re protecting, they don’t deserve this. _YOU_ don’t deserve this,” Quirin stated softly.

Varian sighed, wrapping his arms around himself. Quirin crept over to his son, kneeling before him, and placing a hand on his shoulder. “Varian, who did this to you?” Quirin repeated his earlier question.

Varian sighed, beginning to tell his tale. Of how he’d just finished translating the third incantation, and was looking for the fourth, when Rapunzel and Eugene had shown up. And then Cassandra had appeared, and he’d been an idiot who’d told her he was the only one who had memorized the incantation after he’d destroyed his work. How she’d taken him prisoner, and used his own truth serum against him, and he’d tried to stop her – tried to reason with her, but she wouldn’t listen. How she’d hit him with her rocks, which was how he got the bruises, but he was fine -really. Eugene and Rapunzel had shown up to save the day, and Lance had caught him when he fell, and he was fine – really.

Quirin frowned as Varian finished his tale. His son once again repeated that, “he was fine – really,” beginning to sound like he was stuck in a loop repeating the same thing. As if, if he said it enough times, he would believe it himself.

Quirin pulled his son into a hug, and was grateful when Varian returned it. Soon, he felt a wetness on his shoulder, and realized his son was crying, albeit softly. Clutching his son tighter, Quirin whispered reassurances to him. “You’re safe now, Varian. I’ve got you. No one’s going to hurt you while I’m here.”

Varian nodded into his shoulder, finally pulling back from the hug. Wiping his eyes, his son sighed. “I just – when she used the truth serum – MY truth serum against me… I finally know how all those people felt. I felt so violated, and then when I tried to talk to her, she wouldn’t listen. She’s just so lost, and hurt, and angry, and I-I…,” Varian trailed off, staring off into space.

Quirin sighed, frowning. “You saw yourself in her.”

Varian nodded, but refused to meet his father’s eyes. “I couldn’t stop her, dad. I couldn’t reach her. I tried to save her, but I couldn’t.”

Quirin nodded, reaching up to cup his son’s face, forcing Varian to meet his eyes. “It’s not your fault, Varian.”

Varian shook his head. “But it is. Because of me, Cassandra has the third incantation. She has complete control over the black rocks. She almost killed Rapunzel. If that had happened – it-it would have been all my fault.” Varian shuddered, and wrapped his arms around himself once again.

Quirin frowned, shaking his head. “No, Varian. None of what happened is your fault. You did everything in your power to stop her, to try to help her. No one blames you for what happened.” And if they did, Quirin would be happy to put them in their place.

“She’s just so hurt, and angry, and I tried to empathize with her, but she wouldn’t listen,” Varian whispered.

“Did you?” Quirin asked.

Varian stared at his dad in confusion.

“When I was trapped in the amber, when you felt alone and hurt, did you listen to what others had to say?” Quirin explained.

Varian shook his head. “No. I was too caught up in my own pain at my own loss.”

Quirin nodded, stroking his son’s hair. “She’ll find her way back.”

“How can you be so sure?” Varian asked.

“I can’t be 100% sure, but I do know this. Your friend Rapunzel never gives up on the people she cares about, and neither do you.” Quirin smiled at his son. “If anyone can empathize with Cassandra and help bring her back to the light, it’s the two of you.”

Varian nodded. “Thanks, dad.”

Quirin smiled, helping his son up. “Now how about I help you treat those bruises, and then you get some sleep?”

Varian nodded as the two made their way towards his room, Ruddiger following along behind them. “Thanks for being there for me, dad.”

Quirin nodded, “Of course, son. I’ll always be right here if you need me.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm firmly on the "Cassandra definitely hurt Varian when she pummeled/launched him with black rocks" side of the argument - the boy got some bruises. The whole "they're magic rocks that don't hurt, because Cassandra never wanted to hurt Varian" argument has never made sense to me - sorry, not sorry if you fall on that side of the argument. Do I think Cassandra wanted to hurt Varian on purpose? NO! Absolutely not! He was a means to an end for her, and she literally states that in "Cassandra's Revenge." But if this show has taught us anything, it's that you can unintentionally hurt others very easily. Plus, how can you say they don't hurt when she legit almost killed Eugene?!? That's an argumentative fallacy right there. 
> 
> I'm hoping to have the last chapter up by Sunday - I just need to finish editing. After that, I will update Creeping Crystals (I, for some reason, had thought I had updated during Thanksgiving, and just now realized I did not, so it's been 2 months, and I feel horrible, but it is what it is).
> 
> Feel free to let me know what you thought! :)


	7. Weapons and the Way Forward

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Varian and Quirin discuss Project Obsidian.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is one of those moments I wish they had shown in the show, but I guess they have to keep it light-hearted for the kids. But we all know Varian definitely discussed Project Obsidian with his dad. You don't just create a weapon shooting the very substance that ruined your life and the life of your only family member without having a family discussion first. I hope I did it justice! Enjoy! :)

“Dad?” Varian called hesitantly as he entered the house. It’d been a week since his kidnapping, and Eugene’s subsequent approach about the Cassandra defense idea, and Varian finally thinks he’s thought of something, but he’s not so sure.

After searching the entire house, Varian makes his way out to the fields where he finds his dad plowing one of them. Upon seeing his son, Quirin stops and smiles at him. Varian smiles back, rushing over to give his dad a hug.

As he pulls back, Quirin looks down, smiling but seemingly confused. “Varian! I thought you were staying at the castle to work on a project with Eugene.”

Varian nodded. “I was, but I-I need some advice, dad.”

Quirin frowns, but nods. If Varian needs his help, he’d be happy to give it, but it’s concerning that his son felt the need to come all this way to Old Corona just for some advice. “What happened?”

Varian sighs. “Eugene wants me to help come up with a weapon to defend against Cassandra and her black rocks in case she tries to attack the kingdom.”

Quirin nods. “You don’t want to hurt your friend.”

Varian sighs, turning to face away from his father. “It’s not just that….”

Quirin frowns, but waits for his son to continue.

“I came up with an idea for a weapon, one that wouldn’t necessarily hurt Cassandra, but one that would definitely stop her.”

“But…,” Quirin supplies when his son doesn’t continue.

“We’re calling it Project Obsidian,” Varian states. “It’s a weapon that will trap Cassandra, hopefully without hurting her.”

“That’s good news, son,” Quirin replies. What’s the bad news? Varian wouldn’t have come all this way just to tell him about his latest invention.

“I’m not so sure that it is…,” Varian sighs. Turning to face his father, he gulps. “Project obsidian, it-it uses the-the…,” Varian pauses, once again turning away from his father.

“The what?” Quirin asks, feeling the dread build deep in his gut.

“The amber,” Varian whispers.

Quirin freezes as memories resurface. No wonder his son came to him for advice. He’s the one who knows the amber best, even more than his son. “Oh…,” Quirin states.

“Yeah, oh…,” Varian replies, refusing to meet his dad’s eyes. “The thing is, I know it will work, but I don’t know if I _CAN_ do it, you know?”

Quirin nods. He knows exactly what his son means. “And you want my advice on what you should do,” Quirin states. It’s not a question.

Varian nods. “I don’t know what I should do, dad. Eugene says we’d be protecting the kingdom, but Cass is- was my friend, and I don’t know if I can do that to a friend. The amber’s already taken so much from me-from us. I don’t want it to hurt anyone else.”

Quirin sighs, rubbing his hand over his face. He understands exactly where his son is coming from. “Is it the only way to stop her?”

Varian frowns, but nods. “The only way I can think of. She now has full control over the black rocks. It’s the only substance I know that can stop them- that can stop her.”

Quirin nods. “If it’s the only way, perhaps you should go forward with project obsidian.”

Varian sighs. “The thing is – I don’t know if I can.” He cringes, looking up to meet his father’s eyes.

Quirin looks back at his son in empathy. Out of all of the people in the world, they know more than anyone the damage this amber can do – the pain it can cause. “I guess it depends on you. It’s your decision to make, son. I’ll support you either way.”

Varian frowns. “That’s not exactly an answer.”

Quirin chuckles. “You’re old enough to make your own decisions, Varian. You came up with the idea, you need to decide if you can live with the consequences of it.”

Varian nods. “But what if the consequences of not using it are worse than if I created this weapon in the first place? What if, without it, we can’t defeat Cassandra?”

Quirin sighs. “I don’t have all the answers, Varian. This is something you have to decide for yourself. But I encourage you to think back to your own past, even though it hurts. How far would you have gone to get me back?”

Varian gasped. “I would have done anything!”

“Regardless of who you hurt in the process?” Quirin asked.

Varian gulped, but nodded hesitantly.

“And even though it hurt, and you went through a year of hell in prison, aren’t you glad that your friends, that Rapunzel, stopped you? That they kept you from destroying more than you already did?”

Varian once again nodded.

“Then I think you know what you have to do, even if it hurts,” Quirin stated.

Varian nods a final time. Reaching forward, he hugs his dad once again. “Thanks, dad,” he whispers.

Quirin smiles. “You’re welcome, son.”

Varian pulls back, nodding in determination as he turns to leave. “I will make you proud, dad.”

Quirin waves as Varian turns to leave. “You already have, son.”

~~~~~~

After the battle with Cassandra, after the battle with Zhan Tiri, Varian finds himself talking with Cassandra. It’s awkward and full of apologies, both for him almost killing her, and her almost killing him, but he’s glad to have his friend back.

As Cassandra leaves with her father, Varian’s sees his own come to stand next to him, as they both watch Captain and daughter ride off into the horizon.

“How is she?” Quirin asks.

“Still hurting, but less so now. She’ll be okay,” Varian smiles, watching as Cassandra disappears from view.

Quirin nods, turning to look down at his son. “Are you okay, son?”

Varian nods. “I’m fine, dad.”

Quirin looks down at his son, skeptical.

Varian, upon seeing the look on his dad’s face, laughs. “I am, dad. Really….”

Quirin smiles. “I’m glad we were able to save her.”

Varian smiles, “Me too. But she still has a long way to go with healing.”

Quirin nods in agreement.

Varian continues, “But she has her father to help her, and I know from experience that that’s enough.”

Quirin feels tears fill his eyes as his son leans into his side to hug him.

“We’re enough.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Now you see where the title comes from. I actually wrote the ending before anything else, and I knew from the beginning that I wanted that line to be the title. Feel free to let me know what you thought! :D

**Author's Note:**

> Quirin's free from the amber, Varian's free from jail - everything's alright now.... Right? (*cue villainous laughter* - tehehe)
> 
> Feel free to let me know what you thought! :)


End file.
